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It says that the trio would have preferred to keep the facade of the pub at the least.

Their letter reads: “This development raises the question as to whether the council should, going forward, be more proactive in giving local listing to our old pubs which are increasingly under pressure due to the value of land for development.

“We feel that this current application is an improvement on the previous application and recognise the work that the developers did engaging with the community.

“The pre-planning consultation was meaningful and comments from residents incorporated into the plans including a shift from apartments to houses which are much more in keeping with the buildings in the street although there is a concern about the slate rather than brick facing of two of the units.

“We do remain concerned about the increased pressure on parking in the area. Parking problems have increased significantly since the development of flats on Monthermer Road. At the very least there needs to be a review of residents’ parking in the area”.

The Grange pub on Penarth Road in Cardiff (Image: Western Mail)

Camra has previously said that they would urge all pub owning companies to sell pubs on as “going concerns” not for property deals.

A spokesman previously said: “With 29 pubs a week closing, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that pubs are seen as soft targets for property developers, keen to use loopholes in planning law which allow them to acquire and change the use of a pub, or demolish it completely, with no reference to the communities the pubs serve, or local planning authorities. CAMRA would urge the Government to tighten up planning protection for pubs, which are vital community assets.”

“They should be protected both as a community asset and as part of the history of the area but also, in the case of The Gower it’s a lovely building. It has beautiful oak panels inside and a function room. It’s going to going to be replaced by not particuarly high quality housing and we’ll lose a lovely building from the landscape.

“It seems that other cities do it better in terms of protecting their spaces.”

She said with their pubs, they have made them the heart of the community, taking part in local events and speaking to residents about what they want to see there.

“People always say you don’t go into running a pub to be a millionaire but you can make a viable business out of it,” she said.